Mark Webber: why I'm a winner

The Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber has won more F1 races than
anyone this season - but the signs of his star quality were always there.

Mark Webber: 'I'm very lucky that Australia has some sensational sportsmen and women from whom I've been able to draw inspiration'Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Simon Arron

10:53AM BST 15 Jul 2010

It was said that he couldn't race and, later, that he was more whinger than winner. Neither accusation, though, was founded on fact.

It took eight seasons before the wider world awoke to Mark Webber's potential as a grand prix driver, but the signs were always there if you bothered to study the detail...

Webber had no major championship titles to his name when he graduated to Formula One in 2002, with perennial minnow Minardi, but he put in some stellar performances to earn himself a seat at Jaguar.

Here, he frequently flattered an underperforming car in qualifying, before inevitably drifting backwards on a Sunday afternoon. That's why people questioned his racing ability, but it was always easier to perform miracles for one lap than it was for 56.

His subsequent alliance with Williams promised great things, but by the time he arrived it was a team in mild decline and he was prone to pointing out its shortcomings. Hence the "whinger" label, although Williams has since acknowledged that Webber had a point.

The relationship might not have gelled, but he was still in with a chance of winning the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix until an overheating exhaust ignited his car. People tend to overlook such cameos - and, indeed, his unerring pace in the rain, motor racing's great leveller.

Webber's current Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel is perceived as the real deal, the best driver Germany has produced since Michael Schumacher was in his prime, and during 18 months together they have rarely been separated by more than hundredths of a second. Only during this period has the wider world started to think, "Actually..."

Webber is accustomed, though, to being underrated. "I think it comes from my days in the junior categories," he says. "I did well back then, but didn't have the phenomenal career that some enjoyed. F1 is a greater challenge, though: it is much more intense and involves a lot more detail, which suits my approach.

"I'm very lucky that Australia has some sensational sportsmen and women from whom I've been able to draw inspiration. You look at what Mick Doohan achieved in motorcycle racing, for instance, and the way he kept bouncing back from injury.

"I could see how driven he was and I've always felt the same. It's not a question of trying to make history, it's simply about giving it your best shot every time.

"You need to maintain that consistent desire: if ever you stop caring about the way you perform, it's probably time to do something else."

Webber and Vettel have been in the spotlight for much if this season, not least because of the controversy that has tracked them. In Turkey they collided while fighting for the lead - and last weekend, at Silverstone, Red Bull's latest front wing was removed from Webber's car and given to Vettel after the German's had incurred damage.

After being outqualified by 0.143s, the Australian made his irritation clear. "People have to remember that sport is an emotionally charged environment," he says, "and I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve. It's just what I do.

"Can Sebastian and I continue to work together? Absolutely. We have been extremely closely matched, but we still get along well professionally. It's a bit like a marriage, I guess. The longer you're together, the more likely it is that you'll have the occasional hiccough."

Webber's victory at Silverstone put him third in the championship, 17 points behind Lewis Hamilton and seven clear of Vettel. He has scored three wins so far this season, one more than any rival, and retains a real chance of becoming Australia's first F1 world champion since Alan Jones, 30 years ago.

"I try to go about my work honestly and fairly," he says. "Yes, I make demands of others, but I reciprocate with 100 per cent commitment. That's all I can do."